"It was sort of news to me, and obviously that's all it was, was rumor. It's nice of people to think of me, and its nice of people to mention me, but there's really 100 percent absolutely no truth to that," Gretzky said.

He added that he hadn't had direct contact with the the Maple Leafs without denying that there had been some informal, third-party discussions, and said that the only team he'd discussed joining in an official capacity was the LA Kings.

Gretzky, though, said that he's content with his life in Southern California, where he still has kids in school—he was calling after a round of golf.

"Right now, I haven't even thought about going down that avenue," Gretzky said.

Gretzky has been out of hockey since 2009, when he stepped down as head coach and head of hockey operations. The Maple Leafs job—as high a profile position as exists in the sport—opened up earlier this month when Brian Burke was fired. Dave Nonis took over Burke's GM duties, but did not replace him as president.